Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid and Accident
It is common for police to give tickets for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident when a driver gets into an accident. The statute cited for the violation, 625 ILCS 5/11-601, is the same statute cited when you get a ticket for driving too fast for conditions. Accordingly, it is also a petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000; no jail time is possible.
Failure to reduce speed is a moving violation which counts towards the 3 moving violation maximum per 12 month period. In addition, if you receive a conviction for failure to reduce speed, the Secretary of State will assign 10 points to your driving record. Read more about the Secretary of State's points system here. In addition, if you were involved in an accident, a guilty plea will count as an admission of liability if you are sued for causing the accident. For this reason, when you are charged with failure to reduce speed, it is important to have an experienced attorney review your tickets as well as any crash reports and police reports.